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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · chest · ruler · snap · sharp · racket

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. tear — from crying
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. tear — from crying
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. tear — to rip
  15. sharp — clever
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. chest — a box
  18. racket — for tennis

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com